Wetland Reserve Program Enhances Site Occupancy and Species Richness in Assemblages of Anuran Amphibians in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA

Abstract

We measured amphibian habitat use to quantify the effectiveness of conservation practices implemented under the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. From February to June 2007, we quantified calling male anurans in cultivated cropland, former cultivated cropland restored through the WRP, and mature bottomland hardwood forest. Sites were located in two watersheds within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of Arkansas and Louisiana, USA. We estimated detection probability and site occupancy within each land use category using a Bayesian hierarchical model of community species occurrence, and derived an estimate of species richness at each site. Relative to sites in cultivated cropland, nine of 1 l species detected were significantly more likely to occur at WRP sites and six were more likely to occur at forested sites. Species richness estimates were also higher for WRP and forested sites, compared to those in cultivated cropland. Almost half (45 %) of the species responded positively to both WRP and forested sites, indicating that patches undergoing restoration may be important transitional habitats. Wetland Reserve Program conservation practices are successful in restoring suitable habitat and reducing the impact of cultivation-induced habitat loss on amphibians in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley.

Restored Wetlands in Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Landscapes Enhance Species Richness of Amphibian Assemblages

“…Variation in number of species detected in this study among wetlands is consistent with results of numerous amphibian studies, especially anurans (e.g., Church 2008;Walls et al 2013). Variation in numbers and relatively small sample sizes contributed to the lack of significant differences in species richness among the wetlands I sampled.…”

“…My results showed that restored wetlands support levels of amphibian diversity similar to the reference natural wetlands included in this study. They also demonstrate the effectiveness of conservation efforts implemented under NRCS wetland programs, and support the findings of Balas et al (2012), , and Walls et al (2013), who studied amphibians in other regions. Wetlands restored through NRCS and private landowner partnerships, such as those included in this study, support amphibian populations that help mitigate natural habitat loss in these two regions.…”

“…The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Effects Assessment Project (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/ Conservation_Effects_Assessment_Project/) is a multiagency effort to assess the environmental effects of conservation practices and programs, including wetland restoration. Studies of amphibian responses to wetland restoration have been completed in the Prairie Pothole Region (Balas et al 2012;Mushet et al 2012) and the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (Waddle et al 2013;Walls et al 2013), but appear to be lacking for other parts of the country.…”

Potential effects of climate change on NRCS Wetland Restoration Easements: An ecohydrological assessment

“…Since 1992, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, ) has invested large sums in restoring wetlands on over 900,000 ha of agricultural land as Wetland Reserve Easements under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, also referred to as the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). Although studies such as Walls, Waddle, and Faulkner () support the success of the WRP in restoring suitable wetland habitat through amphibian surveys, the ability of conservation efforts to mitigate historical wetland loss and degradation is still questioned. There is also a recurring conclusion that many restoration efforts fail to establish a proper hydrological regime (Kirk, Wise, & Delfino, ; Kusler & Kentula, ; National Research Council, ) or are poorly managed (Stroman & Kreuter, ) and, therefore, may ultimately fail in restoring the full function of the wetland.…”

Understory vegetation as an indicator for floodplain forest restoration in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, U.S.A.

“…The MAV assessment compares active croplands, afforested WRP tracts, and mature bottomland hardwood (BLH) forests to quantify multiple services including pollutant reduction, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity support (e.g. Waddle et al ; Walls et al ). Preliminary data for overstory tree composition suggested that WRP and BLH sites shared about 70% of species (both planted and colonizing), indicating a potential to resemble natural forests with time.…”